Beyond Reading: How Motor Training Can Support Children with Dyslexia
By Suman Munshi, IBG NEWS
AI-generated image for illustration only
A practical, evidence-informed approach to coordination, handwriting and confidence
When a child struggles with reading, spelling or writing, attention naturally turns toward phonics, language, memory and classroom instruction. But some children who have dyslexia also experience difficulties with handwriting, fine-motor control, coordination, balance or other everyday motor tasks. These difficulties deserve attention—not because motor exercises can “cure” dyslexia, but because improving a child’s functional motor abilities can make everyday learning and participation easier.
Research published in recent years has strengthened the case for looking at motor performance when it is genuinely part of a child’s difficulties. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found that children and adolescents with dyslexia showed differences across several motor tasks compared with peers. A 2026 Bayesian meta-analysis covering five decades of research likewise found that fine-motor difficulties frequently accompany dyslexia, particularly in areas such as handwriting, graphomotor performance and manual dexterity.
The important message for parents and educators, however, is one of balance: dyslexia remains fundamentally a learning difficulty involving language and literacy, while motor difficulties should be assessed and addressed when they are actually present.
Why motor skills matter in the classroom
Writing is not simply a language activity. A child has to stabilise the body, control the shoulder and elbow, position the wrist, manipulate the pencil with the fingers, coordinate visual information with hand movement and simultaneously think about spelling and what to communicate.
When handwriting requires excessive physical effort, the child may have less attention available for the academic task itself.
Research on handwriting has documented relationships between motor performance and handwriting fluency in some children with dyslexia. One study, for example, found differences in motor skills and handwriting production among children with dyslexia and reported an association between motor performance and pauses during letter production.
This does not mean that every child with dyslexia has a motor disorder. It means that motor skills should be considered when a child’s functional performance suggests a problem.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has similarly emphasised comprehensive assessment. Its guidance notes that children with learning difficulties may require evaluation of academic, language, attention and motor skills, while occupational and physical therapists can address co-existing fine-motor, gross-motor, balance and related difficulties.
The first rule: assess before training
A common mistake is to begin a long list of exercises without first identifying what the child actually finds difficult.
A simple observation can provide a useful starting point.
Parents, teachers or trained professionals can look at whether the child can:
- maintain a stable sitting posture;
- balance briefly on one foot;
- jump using both feet;
- throw and catch a large soft ball;
- use both hands together;
- manipulate small objects;
- use scissors;
- fasten buttons or zippers;
- build with blocks or Lego;
- hold and control a pencil;
- copy basic lines and shapes;
- form letters consistently;
- write without excessive fatigue or discomfort.
This is not a diagnostic test for dyslexia or developmental coordination disorder. It is simply a functional starting point. If difficulties are substantial or persistent, a formal assessment by an appropriately qualified professional is more appropriate.
Start with movement—not worksheets
For a young child, motor training should initially feel like play rather than therapy.
A simple 25–30-minute session can begin with approximately five minutes of whole-body movement.
1. Cross-body movements
Ask the child to touch the right hand to the left knee and then the left hand to the right knee.
Start slowly.
The goal is not speed. The child should learn to control the movement accurately.
2. Balance
Try standing on one foot for a few seconds.
Progress gradually:
two feet → one foot with support → one foot independently → longer duration
3. Throw and catch
Use a large, soft ball.
Begin at close range. Once successful, increase the distance gradually.
This introduces visual tracking, timing and hand-eye coordination in a highly practical form.
4. Jumping
Begin with two-foot jumps.
Later introduce:
- forward jumps;
- backward jumps;
- jumping over a line;
- simple sequences.
The emphasis should remain on controlled movement rather than competition.
From whole-body movement to hand control
After gross-motor activities, the programme can gradually move toward fine-motor work.
Useful activities include:
- squeezing and rolling playdough;
- building with blocks;
- threading large beads;
- using pegs;
- picking up small objects with tweezers;
- tearing and folding paper;
- opening and closing containers;
- cutting along lines;
- simple construction activities.
These activities provide opportunities to practise hand strength, dexterity, bilateral coordination and visual-motor control in meaningful ways.
Research on children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is particularly informative here. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 randomised controlled studies found that motor-based interventions improved overall motor skills, balance, coordination and activity performance in children with DCD. The review also found evidence favouring task-oriented approaches—training that connects practice to meaningful activities.
A separate 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based interventions found a large overall improvement in motor performance among children and adolescents with DCD or probable DCD, with intervention frequency and total training dose influencing outcomes.
These findings are relevant to programme design, but they should not be misrepresented as proof that the same interventions treat the underlying reading difficulties of dyslexia.
The handwriting bridge
The transition from motor training to handwriting should be gradual.
A sensible progression is:
Movement → hand control → visual-motor patterns → shapes → letter formation → words → functional writing
Instead of immediately asking a struggling child to fill pages with letters, begin with controlled movements:
vertical lines
| | | | |
horizontal lines
— — — — —
circles
○ ○ ○ ○
diagonal patterns
////
simple patterns
/\/\/\/\
Then introduce individual letter formations.
The objective is to make the movement increasingly automatic, controlled and comfortable.
Why repetition matters
Children do not develop motor fluency simply by being shown an activity once.
They need:
demonstration → guided practice → repetition → feedback → independent performance
But repetition should not become monotonous drilling.
A child who is repeatedly unsuccessful may quickly associate writing with failure. Activities should therefore be challenging enough to stimulate learning but achievable enough to maintain motivation.
Research in DCD provides useful support for repeated, sufficiently frequent motor practice. Earlier meta-analyses found positive effects from motor interventions, particularly activity-oriented and task-oriented approaches, while more recent research continues to identify training frequency and total dose as important factors.
A practical 30-minute model
A school, learning centre or home programme could begin with the following structure:
| Duration | Activity | Main objective |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | Whole-body warm-up | Body awareness |
| 5 minutes | Balance and coordination | Postural and motor control |
| 5 minutes | Ball activities | Hand-eye coordination |
| 7 minutes | Fine-motor games | Finger dexterity |
| 5 minutes | Pre-writing/handwriting | Graphomotor control |
| 3 minutes | Successful fun activity | Confidence and motivation |
Three sessions per week can provide a practical starting point, with progression based on the child’s response rather than a rigid timetable.
The 2026 school-based DCD meta-analysis found particularly strong results where interventions were delivered at least three times per week and reached a substantial overall training dose. However, those findings apply to children with DCD/probable DCD and should not automatically be transferred to every child with dyslexia.
What motor training should NOT claim
This is perhaps the most important part of the discussion.
Motor exercises should not be advertised as:
- a cure for dyslexia;
- a replacement for reading instruction;
- a way to permanently eliminate dyslexia;
- a substitute for a proper learning assessment;
- a treatment based on unsupported claims about “rewiring” the brain.
Dyslexia requires appropriate literacy intervention.
The International Dyslexia Association identifies Structured Literacy as an evidence-based approach for students with dyslexia and related reading difficulties. It emphasises explicit and systematic instruction in areas such as phonology, decoding, spelling, vocabulary and comprehension.
Therefore, the strongest model is not:
Motor training instead of literacy intervention.
It is:
Motor support + evidence-based literacy instruction + appropriate educational accommodations.
When an occupational therapist may be important
A child may benefit from occupational-therapy assessment when motor difficulties significantly interfere with everyday activities.
Warning signs may include persistent problems with:
- handwriting;
- using scissors;
- dressing;
- tying shoelaces;
- eating with utensils;
- manipulating classroom materials;
- catching or throwing;
- balance;
- playground participation;
- completing age-appropriate motor tasks;
- fatigue during handwriting.
Developmental coordination disorder is a distinct neurodevelopmental condition and should not simply be assumed because a child has dyslexia.
A qualified professional can determine whether the child has a broader motor-coordination difficulty and whether targeted intervention is warranted.
The psychological dimension
There is another reason to make motor training positive: confidence matters.
A child who repeatedly fails to complete handwriting, sports or classroom activities may begin to avoid them. That avoidance can then reduce practice opportunities and reinforce the perception that the child “cannot do it.”
The solution is not to lower expectations. It is to break complex tasks into achievable stages.
Instead of:
“Write this whole page.”
Try:
“Let’s make these five letters really good.”
Instead of:
“Catch the ball.”
Try:
“Let’s catch it from one metre away.”
Instead of:
“You can’t balance.”
Try:
“Let’s see if you can hold it for five seconds.”
Small achievements create opportunities for successful repetition.
Measuring progress
A motor programme should produce measurable observations rather than relying only on impressions.
Every four weeks, record things such as:
Balance:
5 seconds → 8 seconds → 12 seconds
Ball catching:
2/10 successful → 5/10 → 8/10
Scissor control:
unable to follow line → follows straight line → follows curved line
Pencil control:
irregular lines → controlled patterns → consistent shapes
Handwriting:
slow/effortful → more controlled → increasingly fluent
The aim is not to compare one child with another.
The aim is to compare the child’s present performance with the child’s previous performance.
The bigger picture
Recent research gives us a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between dyslexia and motor skills.
A 2024 meta-analysis found motor differences across multiple tasks in children and adolescents with dyslexia. A 2026 Bayesian meta-analysis, covering research from 1970 through 2025, found medium-sized differences in fine-motor performance across a large body of research and reported that such differences were still observable beyond childhood.
At the same time, research on DCD shows that task-oriented, activity-based motor interventions can improve motor performance, particularly when training is sufficiently frequent and connected to meaningful activities.
Together, these findings suggest a practical principle:
Don’t train a label. Train the child’s actual difficulty.
If a child with dyslexia has no meaningful motor difficulty, there is no scientific reason to make motor training the centre of the intervention.
If that child struggles with handwriting, balance, coordination or fine-motor activities, those difficulties deserve targeted attention.
And if reading and spelling are the main problems, the child needs direct, structured literacy instruction.
A better model for the future
The most child-centred approach may therefore be a coordinated one:
1. Identify the difficulty.
What exactly is preventing the child from participating or learning?
2. Measure it.
Establish a simple baseline.
3. Train the specific skill.
Use short, purposeful and repeated activities.
4. Connect practice to real life.
Writing, dressing, playing, drawing and classroom participation matter more than performing an isolated exercise perfectly.
5. Provide evidence-based literacy teaching.
Motor activities should complement—not replace—structured reading and spelling instruction.
6. Monitor progress.
Adjust the programme according to measurable improvement.
7. Refer when necessary.
Significant or persistent motor difficulties warrant professional assessment.
Conclusion
The goal of motor training for a child with dyslexia should never be to “fix” the child.
The goal should be to remove unnecessary barriers to participation, improve functional skills and give the child more confidence in what their body and hands can do.
Dyslexia is not a measure of intelligence, effort or potential. When a child receives appropriate literacy instruction alongside targeted support for genuine motor or handwriting difficulties, education can become less about struggling with basic mechanics and more about allowing the child to demonstrate what they actually know.
For parents and educators, the simplest starting point is also the most important: observe the child, identify the real difficulty, begin with small achievable tasks, practise regularly, measure progress—and use evidence-based literacy intervention alongside motor support whenever it is needed.
— Suman Munshi,IBG NEWS
